‘Cell 211′ dominates Goya awards

Spain's equivalent of the Oscars honors prison thriller

Confirming expectations at a rebooted Goya kudofest, Daniel Monzon’s breakout Spanish hit “Cell 211″ swept three of the four top prizes, picture, director and actor for Luis Tosar at Sunday’s 24th Spanish Academy Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars.

An IFC U.S. pickup, prison thriller “Cell 211″ entered the Goya ceremony with 16 noms, the fourth highest nom-count in history. It left with eight. But it saw one of the strongest faceoffs in recent years, competing against Alejandro Amenabar’s “Agora” (13 noms), Fernando Trueba’s “The Dancer and the Thief” (nine) and Juan Jose Campanella’s “The Secret in Their Eyes” (eight).

“Agora” won adapted screenplay and five tech/craft awards in a row, including cinematography (Xavi Gimenez), art director, vfx, makeup and hair design, as well as line production for Jose Luis Escolar.

But “Cell” swept most of the talent kudos as well as adapted screenplay for Jorge Guerricaechevarria and Monzon, who worked from the novel by Francisco Perez Gandul.